


A Shared Reality

by MysticElf21



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Nightmares, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27170713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticElf21/pseuds/MysticElf21
Summary: Kite can't sleep.  Haunted by nightmares of his own death, he wanders the city, stumbling into a convenience store.He doesn't expect to find Chris Arclight there, in that same convenience store, at the same unholy hour of the morning, but he did and now he doesn't know what to do.
Relationships: V | Chris Arclight/Tenjou Kaito
Kudos: 12





	A Shared Reality

Kite didn't expect to run into Chris at three o'clock in the morning at a convenience store. He didn't know why he was there, only that there were black bags under his eyes that had most people, usually apathetic to the plight of others, giving him concerned glances. Now there was an energy drink in his hands and Kite wasn't quite sure how it had gotten there.

"Hello, Kite." Chris said, his white hair brushing over his shoulder again. The question hung in the air between them- _ why are you here? _

The energy drink felt cold in his hands. It grounded him, said this was reality with the chill that sank into his skin. "Chris." Kite said. The name was like cotton in his mouth. Rough and scratchy.

That was what his head felt like too, now that he thought about it. Chris gave him another look, a flash of concern in his eyes too. "I'm sorry," Chris said.

Kite didn't know what for. He barely even heard the words, let alone understood them. He rolled the energy drink in his hand tiredly, his shoulders slumped and his eyes staring absently at nothing.

"You shouldn't be out this late. And," Chris looked around, "where's Orbital?" As much as Kite complained about Orbital, Orbital had been a companion of his during the lonely days of Hart's sickness. Chris looked back, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"You're out this late too," Kite said.

Chris winced but didn't deny the point. Kite stared down at his hand rather than look at Chris's eyes. A receipt was clutched in his hand along with the energy drink.

When had he purchased it? He couldn't remember.

"Kite," Chris said again, and Kite looked up. Chris crossed the distance between them and reached out a hand. "How long has it been since you slept?"

Kite shivered and then- _ he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, his head felt agony like it had never before known, like ten migraines exploding in his head like nuclear bombs all at once. _

_ He couldn't breathe, and as the voice-who was it? It didn't really matter, Kite decided somewhere alongside the burning pain. As he closed his eyes, that voice was the last thing he heard before he slipped away. _

"I don't remember." Kite said. With shaking fingers, he raised the energy drink, unscrewed the cap-it took a few tries, his fingers too unsteady to get a good grip on it.

Chris grabbed his wrist. "You need sleep, not caffeine or energy drinks."

"What would you know about what I need," Kite muttered, shaking off the hand. "How long were you-" He shut his mouth, glancing down at the energy drink.

Chris looked down. "It's nightmares, isn't it? That's why you can't sleep."

Kite remained silent. Chris didn't need an answer anyways. They both already knew.

Chris took his hand in his. Concern had faded from his eyes, leaving only an understanding. Kite swallowed. Understanding. Orbital just beeped at him about optimal sleep patterns for humans, and Hart gave him that look, that look that made him feel so disappointed in himself.

He lowered the energy drink. "We don't live that far from here," Chris said, and Kite reached up and took his hand, feeling the warmth as it grounded him, said this is reality.

"It's cold out this early in the morning," Chris said. In a second he had his blue jacket draped around Kite's shoulders, and Kite shivered at the sudden lack of chilly wind on his back. He hadn't even noticed how cold it was. His breaths were visible puffs of air as he pulled the jacket tighter around himself.

Chris put one arm around his shoulders, steering him down the street. His grip was just loose enough that Kite didn't feel trapped, but firm enough that it kept Kite walking at his pace.

"Is your favorite tea still chamomile?" Chris asked.

"Coffee," Kite said.

"Chamomile tea it is, then." Kite smiled slightly at that, leaning into Chris's warmth.

"Lavender." Chris said, apropos of nothing, as they approached the house. "It's what I use."

"I worked until I was too tired to dream," Kite said. "It kept them out."

Chris gave a sad chuckle. "You haven't changed, Kite."

"You were the one who taught me. You would know." He said. Chris winced, rubbing his forehead for a moment before dropping his hand.

"Kite…" Kite walked ahead, tearing out of Chris's grip and trying to push open the door. The door handle jingled uselessly. Locked. Chris slipped his key and twisted it in the lock.

Kite relaxed as he entered the warm, heated air of the household, the jacket still around his shoulders. "I'll make the tea," Chris said, hurrying off down some hallway, only to come back quickly with two cups of tea.

"It doesn't always work, does it?" Kite asked, staring at the swirling orange liquid in his cup. "The lavender."

"It doesn't." 

"What do you do," Kite said, letting the tea sit and warm his hands, "when it doesn't?"

"I walk." Chris said. "I walk around the city." He smiled sadly. "Did you know that the cafe that we walked past stays open for thirty minutes after it says it closes?"

Kite raised the chamomile to his lips. The warm liquid ran down his throat. "I keep working." He said.

His mind had faded from feeling like cotton had been stuffed inside it to a kind of pleasant fog. The gentle warmth of the house and the tea was soothing in a way he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

He felt his eyes beginning to droop, even as he struggled to keep them open. Giving Chris one last look-had those bags been under Chris's eyes, too?-he slumped over onto his side, his eyes slipping shut.

Chris stood up, taking the chamomile out of his hands quickly before it could spill and setting both cups on the table. He slipped a pillow under Kite's head and then pulled a blanket up over him. "Good night, Kite," he said, running a hand through Kite's spikes of hair. "Sleep well."

**Author's Note:**

> Dilateshipping was requested by an anon ask on tumblr, and so I wrote this one-shot. Feedback and comments are welcome, and you can also check me out on [tumblr.](https://thedorkmagiciangirl.tumblr.com)


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